1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a composite of metal and ceramic materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been known composites of ceramics in the form of oxides serving as a stiffener and metals as a matrix. One conventional process of manufacturing a metal-ceramic composite material as disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 08-41563 reveals a technique of improving the wettability of an oxide ceramic body with respect to a metal matrix.
According to the disclosed process, an oxide ceramic material and magnesium are placed together into a furnace, and a rare gas atmosphere is developed in the furnace to sublime the magnesium. Then, a nitrogen gas is introduced into the furnace to generate magnesium nitride (Mg.sub.3 N.sub.2). The surface of the oxide ceramic material is reduced by the generated magnesium nitride to expose metal on the surface, thus improving the wettability of the surface of the oxide ceramic material respect to a molten metal to be brought into contact with the oxide ceramic material for producing a composite of the oxide ceramic material and the metal.
The disclosed process is highly valuable to use because it can achieve strong bonding strength between oxide ceramic material and the metal due to the improved wettability. However, there has been a demand for a quicker process of manufacturing large-size metal-ceramic compound products as it will be time-consuming for a molten metal to permeate an oxide ceramic material in the production of such a large-size metal-ceramic compound product.